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Around the World in 80 Days with the Yoh Theatre Players

December 13, 2013

Woodstock VT

This past weekend the Yoh Players performed Mark Brown's adaptation of Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days". The play takes place in the attic of a large New England house on Christmas Eve, 1872.

Alek Beaudoin takes on the role of the very proper Phileas Fogg, who wagers £20,000 (a staggering sum in 1872) that he and his newly hired manservant, Passepartout (the agile and quite comedic Brendan Geiger), can accomplish the trip. Beaudoin is perfect for the straight man in this comedy, so the more properly dignified he is, the better — and he is impeccable. But it is the supporting actors who get the chance to shine in plethora of strange roles.

New to the Yoh Players, Peter Vollers plays Detective Fix, a quirky London law enforcement officer who believes Fogg is an escaped bank robber and follows him on his trip almost every step of the way.

Aouda, the young Indian widow whom Fogg and Passepartout save from death as a suttee, Lily Denmeade the actress who plays her, does a nice job of seeming grateful and amazed.

But is Brendan Geiger as Passepartout who steals the show with his rapid fire dialogue and goofy facial expressions. He had the audience laughing out loud almost every time he was on stage.

The other highlight of the play are the various of modes of transportation the travelers take as they make their way around the world. Whether they are on a train, a steamship or an elephant, the actors mimic the bouncing, swaying and sudden lurches of travel with the mastery of silent-film stars.

Harriet Worrell's direction of “Around the World,” is both visually appealing and quite funny. The attic set is so appealing that one would love to climb on stage and explore all the knick knacks and treasures stored there.